No. 16 – Natalie Mickelson
THIS YEAR: A postseason honors candidate, senior Natalie Mickelson is the quiet general of the team Is the Cougars top power threat and is likely to lead the team in slugging percentage Rated a smart catcher and highly trusted by the Cougar pitching staff Can also play third base Enters the season with 22 career home runs, second best on the Cougar all-time chart.
2008 (junior): Started all 47 games and led the team in every offensive category with a .316 batting average to go along with 5 home runs, 22 RBIs, 6 doubles, 2 triples and 21 runs scored with a .530 slugging percentage Hit safely in 28 games, including 8 multi-hit contests Was 3-for-4 with 5 RBIs and a home run in a win over Southern Oregon Also had a 3-run blast vs. St. Thomas Led the team with a .471 on-base percentage Walked 28 times and struck out just 15 times in 156 plate appearances.
2007 (sophomore): Returned to the Cougar line-up after sitting out a season with injury and batted .264 with a team-high 6 home runs Was third on the team with 24 RBIs and fourth with 5 doubles Recorded 7 multi-hit games, including a 3-for-4 effort with 2 home runs and 5 RBIs in a 7-2 victory at Hope International University Was also 2-for-5 with 4 RBIs in a win over Dominican.
2006: Sat out the 2006 season while recovering from surgery.
2005 (freshman): Enjoyed an outstanding rookie season, slugging 11 homes runs (second in the GSAC and second-best single-season total in program history) to go along with a .333 batting average and 31 RBIs Was second in the GSAC in slugging percentage (.675) and on-base percentage (.475) Led the GSAC with 25 bases on balls and set the school single-season record with 9 hit-by-pitches Defensively, picked off 4 runners from her catchers position, most in the GSAC Opened her collegiate career in rather impressive fashion by hitting safely in 16 of her first 17 games, batting .500 (23-for-46) with 19 RBIs, 7 home runs and 4 doubles in the first 6 weeks of play Tied a then school record in just her fourth game with 6 RBIs, going 4-for-5 in a 17-0 victory over Bethany Had 8 multiple-hit games Cougars went 10-0 in games in which she homered, including a seventh-inning solo shot to knot the score at 1-1 vs. Concordia, a game the Cougars later won 2-1 Was 2-for-2 with 2 home runs and 3 RBIs in a 14-3 win over Briarcliffe An injury hampered her over the final third of the season.
HIGH SCHOOL: Graduated from Los Alamitos (Calif.) High where she lettered 4 years as a catcher Helped lead the Griffins to 3 straight Sunset League championships Guided Los Alamitos to a 40-17 record her final 2 seasons, including a 21-12 record during her 2004 senior campaign when the Griffins finished as the CIF Southern Section Division I runners-up Named All-CIF honoree second team as a senior Was a 2-time All-Sunset league pick, including first team honors in 2004 As a 2003 junior helped lead the Griffins to the Division I CIF quarterfinals Named scholar athlete during all 4 varsity seasons.
PERSONAL: Born April 17, 1986, in Long Beach, Calif. Parents are Kevin (teacher) and Denise (teacher) Mickelson Has 1 brother (J.T.) Second cousin to PGA great Phil Mickelson Majoring in psychology Enjoys riding horses and painting Engaged to marry Josh Jones in June.
MICHELSON at AZUSA PACIFIC
YEAR G-GS AB R H 2B-3B-HR RBI SLG% BB HBP SO SB-SBA AVG
2005 46-46 126 35 42 6-2-11 31 .675 25 9 28 2-2 .333
2006 injured--did not play
2007 38-38 110 19 29 5-0-6 24 .473 11 6 19 0-0 .264
2008 47-47 117 21 37 6-2-5 22 .530 28 7 15 1-1 .316
131-131 353 75 108 17-4-22 77 .564 64 22 62 3-3 .306
